Science & Invention

James Dick

James Dick

James Dick was born in 1823 in Soulis Street, Kilmarnock,
and had 4 brothers and sisters. The family was poor, but when James
Dick died in 1902 he left an estate of over £1,000,000, an enormous
amount of money at the time. From humble beginnings James, and his
brother Robert, became businessmen of world-wide importance. Their
hugely successful business, R. and J. Dick, revolved around the
production of drive-belts for industrial machinery, using the
rubber-like substance balata.

James in particular was keen to give something back, and
was latterly known as a philanthropist and benefactor to a variety
of good causes. For Kilmarnock, his most
important gift was that he paid for the town's new museum, art
gallery and library, opened in 1901. The Dick
Institute, which continues to be one of the most important
cultural facilities in South-West Scotland, was named for James'
brother Robert, who had died in 1891. James also donated Cathkin
Braes to Glasgow, the Dick Wing of the Glasgow Royal Infirmary, and
on his death his business was bequeathed to 14 of his
higher-ranking employees.

On an interesting personal note, James Dick married his
devoted assistant Kate MacDonald in 1885. She travelled the world
with him as he visited some of his overseas investments (including
gold and silver mines). James was 62, Kate was in her 30s. After
she became a widow in 1902, Kate went on to marry David Mackay.
Mackay had been instrumental in persuading James Dick to pay for
Kilmarnock's new museum, as he was Town Treasurer and later the
Provost of Kilmarnock. He had been an active supporter of free
access for all to art, literature and education, believing that
exposure to the finer things in life would benefit and uplift his
townsfolk. It is said that James Dick received Mackay's letter on
the same day that one of his mines had struck-it-rich, and was
happy to pay.